An independent report released today by the Wales Audit Office and Audit Commission reveals that, for the first time, no police authorities have been assessed as performing inadequately, or below minimum standards.  Also for the first time, seven police authorities, or 16 per cent, have been assessed as performing strongly.

The report recommends, however, that police authorities and forces will need to maximise their available resources even further if they are to deliver neighbourhood policing to all local areas by 2008 and to tackle national threats, such as serious and organised crime, as well as counter-terrorism. Those 21 per cent of authorities judged to be adequate, only at minimum standards, will have the most work to do to ensure they can tackle these future challenges.

The Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:
‘This report is encouraging in that it shows that all four police authorities in Wales are improving and performing above the minimum standard. They are also well positioned to maintain these standards as well as meet national priorities; but with budgets set to tighten over the next three years, they will need to continue to apply good practice in order to achieve positive ongoing results.’

 
Notes to Editors:

• The full scores for each police force and authority for 2006/07 can be found in Appendix 2 of the Police Use of Resources (PURE) Report. Specific scoring criteria are detailed in Appendix 1 of the PURE Report.

• Scoring scales are as follows:

1 Below minimum requirements – inadequate performance
2 Only at minimum requirements – adequate performance
3 Consistently above minimum requirements – performing well
4 Well above minimum requirements – performing strongly

• The Wales Audit Office mission is to promote improvement, so that people in Wales benefit from accountable, well-managed public services that offer the best possible value for money. It is also committed to identify and spreading good practice across the Welsh public sector.

• The Wales Audit Office was created in April 2005 through the Public Audit (Wales) Act, 2004, which expanded the functions of the Auditor General for Wales and enabled the transfer of staffs from the Audit Commission in Wales and National Audit Office in Wales to his employment.

• The Audit Commission is an independent body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, to achieve high quality local services for the public.  Our remit covers around 11,000 bodies in England, which between them spend more than £180 billion of public money each year.  Our work covers local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services.

• As an independent watchdog, we provide important information on the quality of public services.  As a driving force for improvement in those services, we provide practical recommendations and spread best practice.  As an independent auditor, we ensure that public services are good value for money and that public money is properly spent.

• Further details about the role of the Audit Commission can be obtained from http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/.